Young

Indicator: Fire

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What the results tell us for Young

Available data indicate that 1.24 ha of land was burnt in Young Shire during the current reporting period from prescribed burns. Programs to reduce the level of fuel available to burn in a bush fire were undertaken in the Shire during the current reporting period. Examples of hazard reduction strategies undertook include hazard reduction slashing and trittering.

High fire frequency is considered a threat to at least one threatened species and one threatened fauna population within the Shire (NSW Scientific Committee 2008), and inappropriate fire frequencies may put more threatened plant and animal species at risk. Wildlife and habitat corridors in the Shire may also be adversely affected by inappropriate fire regimes.

Young Shire may have occurrences of six threatened ecological communities listed nationally or in NSW (DECC, 2008a; DECC, 2008b; DEWHA, 2008a) (Note: threatened ecological community lists are generated based on Bioregions). Five of these communities are at risk from fire or inappropriate fire regimes (DECC, 2008b, DEWHA, 2008b). No information was available to assess the impact of fire on these communities during the current reporting period.

No information was available on the impacts of fire on fire sensitive threatened communities or species that occur in the Shire during the current reporting period.

Inappropriate fire regimes are considered a threat to at least three Endangered Ecological Communities (EEC) known to occur in the Shire, and one threatened fauna species (DECC, 2008a; DECC, 2008b; DECC, 2008c; DEWHA, 2008).Two additional EEC’s may also be threatened by inappropriate fire regimes.

Occurrence of fires

Available data indicate that no land was burnt in Young Shire during the current reporting period from prescribed burns. No information is available on wildfires occurring within Young Shire during the reporting period. No data were available on the areas burnt.

Two separate wildfires occurred within the Shire during the current reporting period, however no information is available on areas burnt by these wildfires.

Impacts of fires on native species and communities

Native animals and plants respond differently to fire. Some can persist under a range of fire regimes. However, in many cases, too frequent fire may harm species by killing them, preventing them from spreading, depleting the soil seed bank, or modifying their habitat. Planning for threatened species recovery in relation to fire may mean implementing variable fire regimes and excluding those that are detrimental. Fire management may involve managing hazard reduction activities such as slashing and mowing, to prevent these activities from impacting on species and their habitats.

The impact of fires on native plant and animal species and ecological communities varies with factors such as fire type, intensity and frequency, season of occurrence, and scale and patchiness of the burn. The effects and rate of recovery of plant communities exposed to the impacts of fire may also be affected by broader ecological pressures such as infestation by weeds, grazing pressure, drought, changed hydrology and invasive species.

No information is available on the effects of wildfires and hazard reduction burns on vegetation communities within the Young Shire over the reporting period. The South West District Bush Fire Risk Management Plan (SWDBFMC 2002), which encompasses Young Shire, outlines fire regime thresholds for vegetation complexes within the Shire. These thresholds indicate where declines in biodiversity are predicted under certain fire conditions.

Impacts on fire sensitive species and communities

No information is available on whether fire sensitive species or communities that occur in Young Shire were impacted by control or wildfires during the current reporting period.

Potential impacts on threatened species and communities

High frequency fire resulting in the disruption of life cycle processes in plants and animals and loss of vegetation structure and composition was listed as a key threatening process on Schedule 3 of the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 [24 March 2000]. High fire frequency is considered a threat to an endangered population of the Squirrel Glider (NSW Scientific Committee, 2008b), and may put other species, including threatened plant and animal species, at risk. When it occurs, high frequency fire is resulting in the disruption of life cycle processes in plants and animals and loss of vegetation structure and composition.

There is one priority action under the "habitat management: fire" recovery strategy in the Young Shire Council. These actions apply to one threatened species, the Superb Parrot (Polytelis swainsonii) (DECC, 2008c). A priority action is to insure that planned burns do not have the potential to destroy nest trees. Other threatened plant and animal species present there may also be at risk if subject to fires at an inappropriate frequency.

Young Shire may contain six ecological communities listed as endangered or critically endangered nationally or in NSW, or both (see Ecological communities) (DECC, 2008a; DECC, 2008b; DEWHA, 2008a). (Note: threatened ecological community lists are generated based on Bioregions. Four threatened communities are listed under the NSW Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995, two are listed under the Commonwealth's Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. No information was available to assess the impact of inappropriate fire regimes on these communities during the current reporting period.

Inappropriate fire regimes are considered a threat to five of these threatened ecological communities (DECC 2008b; DEWHA, 2008b). Inappropriate fire regimes are considered a threat to White Box Yellow Box Blakely's Red Gum Woodland, White Box Yellow Box Blakely's Red Gum Grassy Woodlands and Derived Native Grasslands, Inland Grey Box, Murray-Darling Depression, Riverina and NSW South Western Slopes Bioregions and Natural Temperate Grasslands of the Southern Tablelands of NSW and the ACT communities. Fuzzy Box Woodland on alluvial soils of the South Western Slopes, Darling Riverine Plains and Brigalow Belt South Bioregions is threatened by a lack of fire (DECC 2008b; DEWHA, 2008b).

Potential impacts on other species and communities

Remnant vegetation plays an important role in safeguarding biodiversity in terms of providing habitat requirements for a diverse range of fauna and flora once widespread in Australia. Many of the species they support have become increasingly rare across broad areas of their former distribution due to extensive habitat destruction and modification for agriculture and pastoralism. Remnant vegetation, including roadside remnants, is important refuges for fauna and flora, many of which may be affected by inappropriate fire regimes and/or high frequency fire. The resilience of remnant vegetation and their associated fauna to the effects of fire may also be undermined by the cumulative effects of other ecological factors including grazing pressure, invasive species, drought and changed hydrology (salinity and/or drainage).

Fire management

Laws and policies

The Rural Fires Act 1997 is the main state government law relating to fire management in NSW, although the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 and the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 also contain clauses relating to fire and fire management. For more information on these laws, see government laws and policies.

The NSW Rural Fire Service has developed several policy documents and guidelines relating to fire management, including the Bush Fire Environmental Assessment Code (RFS 2003) and Planning for Bushfire Protection (RFS and Planning NSW 2001). The former lists threatened species, threatened populations and endangered ecological communities to be addressed when undertaking hazard reduction burns, and specifies conditions relating to the use of fire and mechanical forms of hazard reduction for each species, population or community. The planning document outlines planning considerations to be taken into account for developments in bushfire prone areas.

South West District Bushfire Management Committee

The South West District Bushfire Management Committee developed a Bushfire Risk Management Plan during the current reporting period (SWDBFMC 2002). This document maps bushfire risk across the Shire and outlines strategies which land managers will undertake to manage identified bushfire risks. The plan addresses protection of natural and cultural values and protection of life and property.

Shire Council and other land management agencies are required to develop their own programs for implementing the strategies outlined in the bushfire risk management plan. Under this plan, Young Shire Council has sole responsibility to communicate the plan's objectives and strategies to private land managers and to ensure these strategies are implemented in the Shire.

Young Shire Council

All the bush fire management undertaken within Young Shire is carried out by the South West Rural Fire Group on Shire Council's behalf.

At the end of the previous reporting period, Young Shire Council was planning to sign a management agreement with the NSW Roads and Transport Authority in 2005 for the latter to manage roadside vegetation in the Shire. The agreement will include strategies for fire management.

Other agencies

Young Rural Lands Protection Board, whose administrative area includes Young Shire, has a Travelling Stock Reserve management plan which incorporates fire management and details all works for fire management to be undertaken on the reserves (SWDBFMC 2002). Actions within the Young Travelling Stock Reserve Management Plan relating to fire include (Young RLPB 2003):

* strategic burning for weed management on reserves

* routine grazing to minimise bushfire hazard

* reducing threat of fire to adjoining lands

References

Department of Environment and Climate Change (2008a) list of Endangered Populations, Endangered Ecological Communities, Critical Habitat and Key Threatening Processes that may potentially occur within the BOOROWA LGA, provided by ACT Commissioner for the Sustainability and the Environment, from Threatened Species Data Officer, Spatial Data Programs, Department of Environment and Climate Change

Department of Environment and Climate Change (2008b), Threatened Species – species, populations and ecological communities in NSW, search on endangered ecological community, viewed 13 October 2008, http://www.threatenedspecies.environment.nsw.gov.au/tsprofile/home_species.aspx

Department of Environment and Climate Change (2008c) Threatened Species – species, populations and ecological communities in NSW; Young Shire Council viewed 14 June 2008, http://www.threatenedspecies.environment.nsw.gov.au/tsprofile/pas_lga_recovery_details.aspx?lga=Young%20Shire%20Council&type=habitat+management:+fire

NSW Scientific Committee (2008a) Ecological consequences of high frequency fires - key threatening process declaration, final determination, accessed 9 October 2008, http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/threatenedspecies/EcologicalConsequencesFiresKTPListing.htm

Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts (Commonwealth) (2008b) Environmental Reporting Tool, Database Report, viewed October 2008, http://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/erin/ert/ert_dispatch.pl?loc_type=lga&search=Search&report=ert

South West District Bush Fire Management Committee (2002) South West District Bush Fire Management Committee – Bush Fire Risk Management Plan, NSW Rural Fire Service.

NSW Rural Fire Service and Planning NSW (2001) Planning for Bushfire Protection: a guide for Councils, planners, fire authorities, developers and home owners, Planning NSW, viewed 26 August 2005, http://www.rfs.nsw.gov.au/file_system/attachments/State/Attachment_20050302_FC6A22B8.pdf.

SWDBFMC—see South West District Bush Fire Management Committee

Young RLPB—see Young Rural Lands Protection Board

RFS—see NSW Rural Fire Service

Young Rural Lands Protection Board (2003) Young RLPB TSR Management Plan 2003–2008, Young Rural Lands Protection Board, Young, viewed 29 May 2006, http://www.rlpb.org.au/southern_tablelands/young/local/management_plans/man_plan.htm.

 

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